Archives for June 2013

When it comes to projects for the common good, people are more likely to sign up when observability is involved. Results from a study by Harvard, Yale and Federal Trade Commission researchers found that posting a public sign-up sheet in apartment buildings raised participation in a California blackout prevention project from 3% to 9%, compared to 4% when participants were offered a $25 cash reward. This increase occurred more for apartment owners than renters, and also only occurred when the program’s “community benefit” was emphasized. These findings suggest that this method effectively “peer-pressures” people who do not want to appear selfish, especially around others whose opinions matter to them. Harvard Gazette describes more about the reasons why people participate and the impact these findings may have on future policies and initiatives.

The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is finalizing the installation of its major summer exhibition, Maurice Prendergast: By the Sea. The festive opening will kick off at 5 p.m. this Saturday, June 29, with a lecture by Nancy Mowll Mathews, leading Prendergast scholar and co-curator of the exhibition, in Kresge Auditorium, Visual Arts Center. A public reception for all ages will be held at the Museum of Art at 6 p.m. Bowdoin students will provide activities for kids.

Next week marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. The Civil War is widely viewed today as having centered around slavery and emancipation, but these were not the main reasons many soldiers signed up to fight. While we remember the heroic outcome and leaders such as Bowdoin’s own Joshua Chamberlain, certain historians such as David Goldfield see the war as “America’s greatest failure,” a demonstration of American leaders’ inability to compromise. The Atlantic corrects many common misconceptions about the Civil War.

Many students look for summertime work in their hometown, the nearest city or on their college campus. Matt Friedland ’15 looked to another continent.

Friedland is the recipient of a Strong/Gault Social Advancement Internship Grant, which is funding his summer job at Voluntario Global in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Strong/Gault grant supports students interning with organizations that serve underprivileged populations. It is one of many grants that Bowdoin Career Planning provides students to pursue summer internships.

Please bear with us while we retroactively post obituaries from back issues of Bowdoin Magazine. This process has currently skewed the chronology of our listings. We're working to fix the problem. In the meantime, please go to bowdoinobituaries.com and search by class year.